Friday, May 30, 2014

Happy Friday party people! I've had a great week visiting with my mom and am super sad for her to leave. So as not to depress my own self, how about goofy post about pet peeves. I'm linking up with Tia and Crystal . . . go check them out!

So without further adieu, sorry I'm not sorry that these are my pet peeves. Actually, I thought it would be hard to come up with 10 of them . . . until I started. 1. Trying to spread cold butter. Seriously, why do restaurants offer hard pats of butter?

2. Crocs. Enough said. And I am ashamed to admit there was a day when I rocked some Crocs . . . in multiple colors. Oh the horror . . .

3. When I am a courteous driver and let folks pull into my lane in traffic, and they can't be bothered to give me the standard thank you wave. Are you kidding me? We live in Atlanta people . . . I'm like the only nice one on the road. And it's a double whamming if they are on their phones. My car is older . . . it's tempting to give them a little bumper nudge.

4. A wobbly chair leg or table. I will get up and rearrange an entire restaurant to get a stationary spot.

5. People who chew with their mouths open or who smack their lips. Oh, and people who drag the fork across their teeth to remove the food. Use your freaking lips people. Gah.

6. Parents who let their kids wear Velcro shoes past Kindergarten. Seriously, make them learn how to tie. We had to do it . . . so can they. It's just not that hard.

7. Being sticky. The thought of syrup being on my skin makes me freak out. Or when someone spills something on the counter and it leaves a sticky mess and I touch it. Yuck.

8. People who follow up snide comments with "just kidding." Uh, no you're not. You're being an asshat and passive aggressive. Stop that.

9. People who find it weird that I don't eat seafood, specifically crustaceans. No, I don't care that lobster is your all time favorite food. And yes, I've tried it. With butter. And I still hate it.

10. Gaining and losing the same 10-15 pounds year after year. Who am I kidding? Season after season. Seriously, when is it going to "click" for me. Ok, this one is a real bummer.

Phew, up until that last one, this was fun! Honestly, I find pet peeves to be kind of a universal language . . . most of us get annoyed at the same stuff. Please tell me your pet peeves . . . and have an awesome weekend!

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Let's talk about the weekend . . . uhm, yeah . . . last weekend. I get a long weekend and a visit from my mom, and then suddenly I can't get anything done . . . poor time management. Gah, such is life.

Memorial Day is such a bittersweet holiday. Most Americans celebrate with friends, family and great food . . . as we should . . . but it breaks my heart to think of those who have lost loved ones and are suffering.

I'd like to think we are a pretty patriotic family. I'm super proud of my boys and their dad. Getzy is the Assistant Scout Master in charge of organizing the flag placement at the front of our neighborhood on patriotic holidays. My boys and other scouts help out, and it is a breathtaking reminder for our community. And while this is a craptastic picture, it's beautiful on a sunny day when the wind is blowing!

And yes, we did the whole cookout thing too . . . twice! My boys are serious meat eaters and need friends to help consume the volume that Getzy likes to make. Check it out . . .

That's three racks of ribs, a whole chicken and two bone-in Boston butts. Tasty, tasty meats. And because Getzy has all different ways to flavor and make them delicious, he had a trifecta of meat making machines in action on Saturday!

And the best part was the leftovers, I whipped up a delicious Brunswick stew . . . I impressed my own darn self. The Internet is magic . . . found some great recipes but didn't love any of them so I combined a few!

So, while the cookouts this past weekend were super fun, the absolute best part was going to see Neon Trees at the Tabernacle in downtown Atlanta! My friend and I bought Groupons for $17.50 each, and it was hands down the best concert money I've ever spent! Neither of us had been to the Tabernacle, and it's our new favorite place to go for live music!

Clearly there was something more exciting to look at to my left . . .btw, LOVE this crazy Irish girl!

There's not a bad seat in the house, and we were super close to the actual band . . . so awesome! The had a DJ between acts so we danced our butts off in between shows which makes the two of us so happy! The first act was called Nightmare and the Cat . . . they were ok . . . didn't love them or hate them. After that, this new band called Little Pools came on and honestly, they rocked it out! We thought they were fantastic and would be happy to see them again! But Neon Trees . . . holy amazing!

Do these types of selfies bug you? Maybe a little? I think they are annoying . . . you're welcome!

The lead singer really knew how to relate to the crowd! I love their music, and he writes most of it himself. He gave the explanations behind the songs and geez, love him. Check him out!!

How's about we talk about some things I love on this fabulous Friday . . . a little Friday Favorites, if you will!First up we have the Target give away I've been pimping all week . . . last call for alcohol entries. Click HERE and enter before noon for your chance to win . . . let's be best friends. My friend Stacey has these amazing sunglasses. I was all like gimme gimme because I wanted to try them on . . . she had the brilliant idea of taking a picture of me from the side so I could see how they looked. Let's face it, the cool 'arms' (is that even what you call them) were what drew me to them.

Get me some Clearasil. Stat.

And when I saw the pic . . . I about fell out. Seriously, am I a teenage boy? What the hell is that on my face? It's like the nuclear launch button, so clearly (or not so clearly, given the state of my face) immediate action was required. Several friends have raved about the Clarisonic so I order one up from Sephora. I chose the Mia 2 because it had 2 speeds, a timer and travel case . . . desperate times call for desperate measures. I selected the color of Passion Fruit because duh, I'm a girl. Behold . . .

Ahh, pimple redemption.

I'm certain this will be the fountain of youth I need . . . the youth that doesn't involve pimples. I'll let you know how it works . . . so far I must say it makes my face feel amazing. The clean feeling you get after using it is also kind of addictive. I look forward to scrubbing up at night and the timer only lasts a minute so I can manage that . . . cheaper than plastic surgery.And because I needed to make myself feel better after that ridiculous picture, mama got some new shades.

Can I get a "Hey now!" That's what my son says when he thinks he's done something awesome!

I may just wear these 24/7 . . . just to avoid the paparazzi. I'm pretty sure my fabulous quotient went up by like 20 points. They are so fancy . . . my first Tory Burch purchase. She's a de-zih-nah, dontcha know. Definitely a step up from my Kohl's sunglasses. Now let's hope I don't lose them, drop them, or sit on them.

Speaking of fancy, how do you like our new designer luggage?

Packing light for an overnight in the woods. Better them than me.

You too can have one of these babies with a Chock full o'Nuts two pound coffee can, some duct tape and paracord. My boys had to put everything they would need for 24 hours in the woods in their pockets and/or their coffee can. That included their shelter, clothing, food, sunscreen, bug spray . . . ALL OF IT. They were doing this to earn theirWilderness Survival Merit Badge. One part of it was to build their own shelter and sleep in it for the night. Check it out . . . craptastic pictures but you get the point.

Night, night. Sleep tight. In the rain and cold. Good times.

I should probably mention it rained like a mother on them and those freaking rock stars made it the whole night and the hike out with nary a complaint. Even said they would do it again. Gah . . . they rock my socks off. I saw this bottle of wine and bought it just for the name . . . and I don't mind if I do with a Shiraz.

This was way more exciting to buy than drink.

When I was about to drink it I was definitely on the excited, high pitched WOOP! WOOP! side of things. But then after I tried it, I was more on the womp, womp side of things. It was not very smooth . . . and kind of had an unpleasant bite. I definitely wouldn't recommend, but I didn't throw it away either . . . because that would be alcohol abuse.

You are cordially invited over for your birthday . . . because I shall serve you a celebratory beverage out of my new wine glass.

Come on over . . . free birthday dinner and drink of your choice!

And if you are of not of legal drinking age, I will let you have sparkling grape juice . . . or chocolate milk. You too can have one of these if you are willing to shop at The Dollar Tree. Saw it. Had to have it. Love it.

Here's my favorite guinea pig, Ruby the Home Wrecker . . . also known as the 5th grade class pet.

I love her. She is a little rodent delight. Too bad I don't get to keep her.

If you aren't familiar with her shenanigans, please check her out HERE. We had her visit Amy's House of Fun the last weekend before school got out, but sadly had to return her to the teacher. Now to be fair, the teacher offered to let me keep her because she knows my love has no bounds for this furry rodent . . . but Getzy's dislike for her would be greater than my love. And since he pays the bills . . . and her cage smells pretty bad after a few days . . . she is not a Getz pet.This guy, however, is a favored Getz pet . . . and he sure makes the Jeep look better with his distinguished tuxedo look. Geez oh Pete, I love this guy. He's an all time favorite.

Hey, how you doin'?

And everyone needs friends that will support you in your bad habits . . . mine being eating Thai food from this crappy hole in the wall restaurant on the regular. I've managed to get my friend addicted and am grateful she supports my need for curry. She brought along her better other half last time!

When I saw this picture, I kind of wanted to Photoshop myself in the middle . . . seems like someone is missing. Me!

And finally, my blogger favorites to round out the day! It kind of cracks me up that my two favorite blog ladies are also named Amy . . . seems we are drawn to each other. I've never met these ladies, but I know we'd totally be friends in real life. Go check out Amy at The Diary of a Fat Mommy . . . she's a cute little Latin fireball who is working on staying fit and being the best she can be!

And also show some love to Amy at The Crazy Wise Woman . . . she's a hot southern mom navigating single life and her fitness journey. She cracks me up on the regular.

And because link ups are fun . . . and great ways to meet new bloggers . . . I'm linking up with Amanda (duh, love that name) from Meet at the Barre for her Friday Favorites.

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Tell me what are your favorite things right now? Maybe I need them in my life too!

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Y'all . . . seriously. This song brings me back . . . it was released in May 1991 . . . the year I graduated high school. Shut up . . . I'm vintage. I've had this song on repeat in my head since yesterday! Why?Because it was the last day of school for my babies . . . I now have two, count them, TWO middle schoolers . . . and a rising 4th grader. WTH?

Yeah, not their best smiles at 7 a.m. Wake up kids!

While I'm going to mourn a little for my free time, I'm excited to have the yahoos home for the summer. We have the usual going on . . . camps, vacations and the pool. In my head I'm going to get all kinds of stuff done this summer . . . like de-cluttering, photo organizing, deep cleaning . . . sounds like a real blast, uh? But I'm nothing if not a social girl, so that stuff can all happen when I don't have fun plans. Like yesterday . . . we got invited to a "school's out for summer" party at 2 p.m. We headed over, and I only left to feed the dogs (because I'm responsible) and get pizza for the kids for dinner. We then closed down that party and headed over to another because we could . . . it's freaking summer. Bam. That's how we roll. So this morning I wake up to the messes I've been ignoring all week.

Seems like I have mad decorating skills, uh?

I love a neat and clean home but Getzy thrives on it so I'm sure he was twitching something fierce last night after he got home late from work. It makes me a little crazy too but when it comes to fun or cleaning up the mess, fun wins every time. I've started to work my way through the laundry today . . . but the weather is amazing so while fun is a priority, sometimes so is relaxing with a good book. This is my view this morning . . . keeps me from seeing the messes.

I wish you could feel the breeze . . . a rare treat on a hot Georgia day!

Anyone else skipping their chores and relaxing? Tell me I'm not the only one . . . and don't judge my messes . . . I'll get to them soon.I suppose another excellent place to avoid the dirty laundry or to buy crap to organize is Target, so don't forget to enter the $40 Target gift card giveaway that ends tomorrow! Check it out HERE!! The entries are pretty low so you're chances are pretty good.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

So I took this picture last summer . . . this friendship bracelet made me so happy, and I wanted to share it on my blog. But I didn't. And I realize now the reasons were vain and insignificant.

Why was the friendship bracelet special? When I volunteered at Cub Scout camp with my boys, Amanda would have to go to "Pixie" camp for the little sisters. Last year she was one of the older girls in her group, but she didn't mind. She had lots of fun helping out the younger ones and learned a lot from the older girl volunteers, specifically how to make friendship bracelets. On the last day, her leader called her out into the hall when I came to pick her up . . . and then her leader started to cry. She had purchased a friendship bracelet making kit for Amanda because she was so grateful that she had been such a help to her that week and behaved so well. She wanted Amanda to feel like a big girl like the teen helpers and thought this would be a special surprise for her. This meant a great deal to Amanda and perhaps even more to me. Amanda is little for her age so sometimes people forget and treat her younger . . . clearly this amazing leader did not. And it also made me proud that she was viewed in such a positive light by another adult. Sometimes she can be sassy and not as helpful to her mom, but apparently I need to let her do her own thing every once in awhile so she can really shine. That bracelet above was the first one she made me with her new kit. So why didn't I share it? After I viewed the picture in a bigger size on my screen, I was self conscience about my hand. I thought it looked old, with the wrinkles and blue veins. It also showed off all my freckles. So I kept it to myself. Why the change of heart? Well, it was something my mother said to me not too long ago. I was driving and we were chatting away. Then she looked down to my hand resting on the console. She rubbed my hand and told me how pretty my skin was. She said it looked so young, without wrinkles and age spots. And I immediately thought about that picture above that I was too embarrassed to share. And then I realized I should be more embarrassed about the reasons I didn't share it. I think we all have a tendency to wish we looked better, had more, did more . . . I could go on and on. It's like we forget to celebrate just where we are and not where we think we need to be. I like to think I'm pretty good about appreciating the here and now, but when it comes to my body, I'm convinced if I weighed 20 pounds less, or had a tan, or less wrinkles, then I would be happier. I took this picture to remind myself how foolish my thoughts have been . . . and to remind myself to appreciate my body here and now.

My hand does look young compared to my 70 year old mother's, and I bet she'd give anything to turn back time 30 years. You know what I see when I look at her hands? I see strength and beauty and love. And I want to hold onto those hands forever because they have held me, cared for me and loved on my children. I also took this picture . . . three generations of hands to hold. Hopefully Amanda can learn from my mistakes and appreciate her beauty, inside and out. And I hope when she looks at my hands in years to come, she sees the same love that I see when I look at my mom's.I know I wish I could go back to my teens and twenties and appreciate the body I had then . . . before carrying three babies and the middle age spread.

Now this doesn't mean we need to flaunt our areas of improvement for all to see . . . keep you bits covered and your toes manicured. With that said, we all should try to maintain a healthier lifestyle and exercise on the regular . . . because life is all about progress, not perfect . . . be grateful for what God gave you.Geez . . . way too serious so let's bring it back to something fun . . . the awesome Target giveaway hosted by myself and Amy at The Crazy Wise Woman . . . check out the details HERE!! And think about this . . .

Monday, May 19, 2014

So . . . I'm am getting all kinds of crazy up on the blog and hosting my first giveaway with another fabulous blogger, Amy at The Crazy Wise Woman! Every girl needs more Target in their life so we've teamed up to give away a $40 Target gift card to the winner, winner chicken dinner!

Amy and I "met" through blogging, and she literally cracks me up on the regular. She's a single mom working on keeping it all fit and together, and she blogs about the day to day crazy in her life . . . emphasis on the crazy with her online dating stories. She lives in Atlanta too, so one day we are going to meet for drinks and hash out the crazy in person!So to enter this giveaway, it's super easy. I like you. I want you to like me. You just have to click a few buttons, and here's how it will go down . . .

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Don't be too jealous, but yesterday I went to school at 7:15 a.m. [also known as the butt crack of dawn] to prep for a shark dissection. Yes, the things we do as moms are seriously questionable. I have, however, learned that time flies and my babies are growing up too fast, so I need to take advantage of every opportunity I get to be with them. With that being said, uh, eeewwwww!

It should also be noted that I was the girl in high school who agreed to write the whole lab report if my partner didn't make me touch the frog we had to dissect . . . because guts. But this guy, he was all up in that nasty shark . . . also known as a spiny dogfish shark, with the spiny part removed.

Since we had a boy shark, our team named him "Sharkyle" . . . our girl name would have been "Sharkecia"

I was assigned a group of four kids, and they were awesome! They all participated, which translates to they all got to hack at it with the dull scissors provided. Kyle managed to cut through some serious cartilage and impressed the teacher . . . perhaps we have a future surgeon in our family? Ask him, and he'd like to be a professional gamer. Real world people. And because I'm too kind to deny you shark guts, here you go . . . if I had to see them, so do you!

Anyone just lose their lunch?

Be grateful you can't smell this fun . . . I think some of the kids wished they couldn't either. We only had one faint, but I took a total of three boys to the nurse. She wasn't shocked . . . she said they always lose a few boys during "shark season." Seriously funny. I find it interesting that the girls handle this stuff better, at least according to her. I did have to sit a few more kids around a shady tree and give them a little time to regroup. My group of kids, however, could not get enough and were bummed their shark didn't have anything exciting in it, like eggs or gross stomach contents.

And just because these two are so fun, here's Kyle with one of his best buddies . . . they have been friends since 2nd grade. I complimented him on the irony of his shirt.

I kept hearing the theme song to Jaws in my head . . .

And don't forget field day . . . I got to work the "hit and run" station and say my directions 30 times, literally. I'm pretty sure of the 700 or so kids I saw that day, about 7 of them listened. I can't say that I blame them since it was outside fun . . . but I do know why I'm not a teacher.

Clearly that shirt fits . . . and Amanda takes her sports so seriously.She gets that from me.

So how does being spoiled come into play here? Well, I super duper love Amanda's teacher. I'm the class room parent, and she knows I will do anything she needs. And "anything" includes taking her call at 6:45 in the morning and then subsequently stopping by the store at 7:15 for field day popsicles!

Well, she sure made me feel special today. I organized Amanda's end of year celebration and afterwards she gave me this . . .

Even the packaging is amazing.

Guess what I found in side? A whole pile of summer Coach goodies. Are you kidding me? I don't even buy myself this kind of fancy stuff, and she loaded me up. A new umbrella, fold up tote bag and wristlet purse. I die of love and gratitude. But the note in the card really melts my heart . . . so thoughtful.

Somebody is going to be extra fabulous this summer!

I suppose she already knows I would have done whatever she needed without the promise of amazing gifts . . . just like I know she teaches and cares for these kids like her own . . . and certainly not for the paycheck. I guess that's just what moms and teachers do . . . am I right? ﻿